THE directorial debut of Marathi theatre veteran Paresh Mokashi, Harishchandrachi Factory has been recognised. The Gollapudi Srinivas National Award of 2008 has been awareded to the director. The period Marathi film is about Dada Saheb Phalke’s life.
It was on reading the biography of the father of Indian cinema that Paresh realised the trials that went into making the first feature film. “Everybody has heard of the award in his name, but not many know much about Dada Saheb Phalke,” he says.
According to Paresh, Indian cinema is more than Bollywood. “South Indian films have a stronger hold,” he feels. He adds that regional films are making their mark as well. “Cinema is either sensible or not. A commercial film can be good and an art house film can be bad,” he says. “If a regional film is good, you will find producers from Bollywood coming to you,” says Paresh.
Mamooty, Mohan Lal and Kamal Haasan are his favourites from the southern film industry. “I like established actors who work out of their comfort zones,” he says. Having a background in theatre helped him to hone his director’s temperament and to get his individual style of satire and dark comedy. His craft has been perfected in such a short time and this man comes with such remarkable humility, that we say Kudos!